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attorneys . And I got to the bottom of a lot of what had been going on with our business for many years . And I found out that we ’ d been lied to for many years – there was never a trademark on our merchandise , ever , from ’ 73 to maybe a year ago , when I changed it . And I ’ ve now retained it , by myself , and it was a lot of work – I got threatened a lot by many , many
people , that they were gonna come after me and sue me . And I said , “ Bring it .” Because you know what ? We had a lot of dishonest people working with us , all kinds of people that were making us < i > believe </ i > it was trademarked when it wasn ’ t . So I ’ m still in the process of getting everything that was bootlegged
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off the shelves , which is not an easy task .
IE : It ’ s interesting that you dubbed this album Freedom just as so many Americans ’ freedoms are being insidiously taken away by one political party , essentially . NS : But freedom is also all about hope , right ?
You have to hope to be able to have freedom because it ’ s a dream , going back to Martin Luther King . And freedom has many different connotations for me , and one was getting away from ex-management , cleaning up everything , and managing everything myself . It ’ s all about that freedom . And freedom is also musical expression – I have the freedom to play and say what I want , even if the world is going down the way that it is . That doesn ’ t stop you from knowing what your goals are and what you want to be able to experience and attain . Hell , I should be president , right ? Uhh … No . Just kidding !
Tom Lanham
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GOO GOO DOLLS continued from page 24 bucks ? I ’ ll pay you twice that just to leave me alone . Just ignore me . And then I said to him , “ Go find things that you love and champion them . Because you ’ re not challenging yourself as a writer , which takes a lot of creativity . So you should find something to champion because it ’ s so much harder to build something up than it is to rip it down . So , in my opinion ? You ’ re a fucking hack because you just wasted good paper and good ink on shitting on something instead of championing something you love .” IE : When and how often did you get away to Dreamland Studios in Woodstock for recording ? JR : I was living there . We all went up there , and we were living in the house there because it was like , “ Dude – we ’ ve got to stay in a bubble !” And my assistant and I rented a U- Haul truck in California and just loaded it up with all my recording equipment , microphones , and everything , and we drove a truck across America because we wanted to see – “ What is life like ?” This was before we started doing the album . The trip started in Los Angeles , and we didn ’ t take Route 66 – we took a more Northern route , and we went through Wyoming and all that . So went through red states and blue states and just seeing it all ? It was interesting – you ’ re in Wyoming ? Not one mask . You went to other places , and everybody was masked up . And
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I ’ m not judging anybody for the way they decided to deal with it , but it was interesting to see the differences between people and how people were coping with it , you know ? It was definitely a learning experience . Because I ’ m an American . I love America . I ’ m not sure I ’ m enjoying what the hell it ’ s becoming . Because we have the capacity and the power to do so much good for so many people . But I think we ’ re kind of past the point of no return . Especially growing up in a place like Buffalo , the weather has changed so starkly . And living away from there for a long time , and then going back and going , “ Wow – this is really weird . This weather is really strange .” And locals are like , “ Yeah , that just kind of the way it is now .” But something is definitely changing . Fire season . The water shortage .
IE : We ’ ve systematically doomed ourselves to extinction . JR : Yeah . And I ask myself , “ What is the hidden prize ? And why do these people [ rightwing politicians ] want to hang onto power so badly ?” And with my daughter ? There are some days I feel like , “ I owe this kid an apology ! Like , ‘ I ’ m really sorry we fucked you on this one ….’ Now every time in L . A ., I ’ m like , “ God – it feels like the end of the world here !” I haven ’ t seen Don ’ t Look Up yet , but I will see it . But Hey – I ’ ve been busy !
Appearing 8 / 4 at Huntington Bank Pavilion , Chicago .
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